Burdened and Beautiful

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My wife Kathie is beautiful.  She’s the most photogenic person in the world.  But there was a time when she was especially beautiful.  At our wedding?  After she got her hair done?  In a new outfit?  She was beautiful at all those occasions, but that’s not the one I’m thinking of. 

The one time that Kathie was most beautiful was when she was pregnant.  She literally sparkled.  In fact, Kathie has said that she even felt better when she was pregnant.

The human body is amazing.  Instead of collapsing from the burden of child-bearing, God designed a woman’s body to actually benefit from it.  While most things in this world wear-out and weaken under load, our bodies get stronger when they are put under a load.

The worse thing you can do to your body is nothing.

In the same way your physical body was designed by God to be used, your spirit was designed to be exercised—to carry weight.  There is such a thing as a spiritual burden that God not only wants us to carry, but has made carrying it something that is good and necessary for us. 

Paul knew about this kind of burden.


“My heart is filled with bitter sorrow and unending grief for my people, my Jewish brothers and sisters. I would be willing to be forever cursed—cut off from Christ!—if that would save them.” (Ro 9:2-3, NLT)

He was so burdened spiritually for the souls of his fellow Jews that he was willing to give up his own salvation for theirs.  What a burden!   But how could that be beneficial?  Great question.  And there’s a great answer found where we started.

Even though Kathie may have looked better and felt better while she was pregnant, there was a whole lot of pain involved.  Spiritual burdens are the same, it’s good for us to have them, but there is pain.  But like the birth of our children, spiritual burdens give way to spiritual birth, and even though we may not forget the pain, the outcome of the birth was worth it all.

No Nobodies

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A visitor was being shown around a leper colony in India. At noon a gong sounded for the midday meal. People came from all parts of the compound to the dining hall. All at once sounds of laughter began to fill the air.  They were laughing at two young men, one riding on the other’s back, were pretending to be a horse and a rider and were having loads of fun.

As the visitor watched, he saw that the man who carried his friend was blind, and the man on his back was lame. The one who could not see used his feet; the one who could not walk used his eyes. Together they helped each other, and they found great joy in doing it.

Imagine a church like that—each member using his or her strength to make up for another’s weakness. That’s what should be happening in every congregation of believers.


“But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all…that the members should have the same care for one another.” (1 Co 12:7, 25)

Paul likened spiritual gifts to various parts of the human body. Eyes see. Ears hear. Hands work. Feet move the body forward. All are essential. And when each fulfills its function, the whole body benefits. All of us have weaknesses, but we also have strengths. God’s Spirit has gifted each of us for the good of the church. We need each other. In the church, there are no nobodies.

It Could Happen Any Moment

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On Sunday, January 7, 2007 we had memorial service for a pillar in our church named Jessie Clark. Her 94 years were recounted with joy, appreciation, and glory unto the Lord.  When Kathie and I had returned home I noticed my cell phone had a voicemail on it, which I retrieved.

It was terrible news.

The message was from a friend of mine in our church, “Hello Joel, we were on our way to church this morning and there was an accident.  We were coming around a corner and were hit head on by a motorcycle.  Our SUV was totaled, but were okay.  The two young riders did not survive.”  Of course I immediately returned the phone call and found out more details about this tragic event.

The next day was Jessie’s graveside service.  As I stood with her family and friends at the cemetery, something began to work in my heart.  There came the realization to me how vulnerable we are. In the normal routine of driving to church, my friends came close to ending up in the cemetery themselves. 

Comparing Jessie’s 94 years of living, with the relatively few years of the couple who were killed on the motorcycle, there would seem to be a big difference.  But in the face of eternity there is almost no difference.  

These events made real to me how important it is that we are ready for death.  We don’t know what, nor who, is around the next corner of life.  In the blink of an eye we could be standing before God.  This is why the Psalmist reminds us…


“So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. ” (Ps 90:12)

Death could happen at any moment, but we do not have to live in fear or dread of it.  In fact, for the person who knows Jesus Christ there is cause for great anticipation.  The promise for us is that in a seamless transition, we will be with the Lord…forever! 

God’s Got A Plan

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A friend of mine used to say:


“God’s got a plan…and it’s a good one.”

My friend is now with the Lord after battling leukemia for many years.  Besides the obvious encouragement those words bring about God’s good plans, what sticks with me most is that he would say those words at some of his lowest points.

How is it that one can say God’s plans are good while everything around seems the opposite?  I’m glad you asked.  This stance of faith comes from a trust that God is working in all things in such a way that is best for His people (check Rom 8:28).  But it’s more than that.

Trusting God’s plans involves understanding how you and I fit into them.  If you do not see yourself front and center in God’s working you can begin to feel that He is distant, aloof, unaware, or worse, uncaring, when actually He’s in everything and will use everything for your benefit.  This is what Solomon concludes:


“To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven…He has made everything beautiful in its time.” (Ec 3:1, 11)

Those words tell me that every season of living has a purpose, and that God will make something beautiful out if it in time.  My prayer for you is that you learn to trust God’s plans and see your self fitting into them

Know the Playbook

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NFL football fans don’t need to know the playbook of the teams they follow, much less care.  But to the NFL player, the playbook is the most important part of his life. This book contains a set of codes and directions for each play, so that they know exactly what to do, where their position will be, and if executed right, how to make a successful play. It is their guide, it is their life.  

Although a professional football player may possess incredible athletic abilities, and may have played football all their lives, and even be an expert with last season’s playbook, if they don’t know this season’s playbook it won’t be long until they’re benched, or eventually cut.

God has a playbook.  God’s playbook will teach us what to do, when to do it, and how to do it.  It will give us the confidence to face our opponent with an expectation of success and victory.


Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
(James 1:21)

God has not given us His word to just to reflect on, or worse yet to let sit on the shelf.  We are to know His word.  We are to live by His word.  God’s word should be as important to us as anything else.  Because once we get a hold of it, when it becomes “implanted” in our lives, it will give us strength to overcome the pull of sin, the uncertainty of not knowing what to do, and the attack of darkness.

But you will never know God’s playbook, much less what to do with it, until you know the One who wrote it.  Only God, the author himself, knows what His playbook says.  He gave the pages order and lovingly assigned each play.  He knows exactly what position suits you best and how to best use the skills he’s developing in you. 

Though time is getting short, there’s still time to learn the playbook.  Being a part of greatest winning season ever seen will be worth the work it takes.  The motivation of being a part of God’s great plans and strategies will make the bench and the grandstands seem like the last place on earth you’d want to be. 

Doing the Right Thing…the Right Way

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2 Chronicles 13 records a horrible event.  The story starts out good enough: David had conquered Jerusalem and decided to bring the Ark of the Covenant back to the city.  He finds out where it was and goes to get it.  But then story takes a negative turn.


“When they came to the threshing floor of Kidon, Uzzah reached out his hand to steady the ark, because the oxen stumbled. The Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah, and he struck him down because he had put his hand on the ark. So he died there before God. Then David was angry because the Lord’s wrath had broken out against Uzzah, and to this day that place is called Perez Uzzah. David was afraid of God that day and asked, “How can I ever bring the ark of God to me?” He did not take the ark to be with him in the City of David. Instead, he took it aside to the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite.” (1 Chronicles 13:9–13)

Many things have been written, said, preached, etc. about what happened here.  Everyone makes careful note of David’s passion to get God’s presence back and Uzzah’s presumptuous and deadly mistake, but not much is said about David’s response. 

We are told that David was angry, then became afraid, and then gave up bringing the ark back to Jerusalem altogether.  Instead he left the ark at the house of man named Obed-Edom.  Then, totally frustrated, David headed home.

But God didn’t let David sulk for too long. 

While the Ark was parked at Obed-Edom’s house, David discovered that hundreds of years prior, there were actually very clear directions given for the handling of the ark, but over the years these steps and procedures had been overlooked and forgotten. 

David learned that not only ark was only to be carried in a very specific way, more importantly, it was to only to be carried by the priests.  He called Zadok, Abiathar, and other men, who were of the tribe of Levi.  David instructed them,


“You are the heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites; sanctify yourselves, you and your brethren, that you may bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel to the place I have prepared for it. For because you did not do it the first time, the Lord our God broke out against us, because we did not consult Him about the proper order.”
(1 Chronicles 15:12–13)

After this, the ark was successfully brought to Jerusalem.  David danced and twirled with joy.  His anger had vanished.  His fear was gone.  And God blessed his rule, calling him a man after His own heart.

Doing the right thing for God certainly should include having the right motive, purpose, and attitude, but it also must be done the right way—his way.

Two-a-days Heaven

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Every August football teams all over our nation begin their preseason training. There is one week during this time called “hell week.”  During hell week players come in for practice two times a day (aka two-a-days).  This brutal training, along with all other preparation, is motivated by the hope of having a winning season.

But there is a season approaching that is unlike any other.


“Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” (Mt 24:44)

Some people are really good at planning and preparing.  But, have you ever thought about how prepared you are for the Lord’s return? While no one knows the hour of the Lord’s return, God’s people should be able to know the season of the His return. With the current events happening in the world, especially in Israel, many of us are wondering if this could be the season.

An old song says:


There’s a great day coming, a great day coming…
Are you ready for that day to come?

That’s an important question we should be asking ourselves.  Are we ready for that day?  But just working harder isn’t the answer.  Jesus Christ has already done the real work.  Getting ready for God to come either by His spirit, or in reality, is accomplished in three ways:

1. Awareness of the how quickly it’s going to happen


“And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.” (Rom. 13:11)

2. A willingness to stand in faith


“And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” (Heb. 6:11-12)

3. Being motivated from a passion for God


“Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God…And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” (1 John 3:1, 3)

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Dead Faith

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Martin Luther, progenitor of the Reformation, brought us the understanding of how the Christian is saved, justified, and declared righteous by faith alone in Jesus Christ.  It was his insight to primarily Paul’s writings that introduced us to the power of grace and how it triumphs over works.

But James wrote,


If your faith does not have works, it’s dead.
(James 2:17)

This seems to be contradictory.  Are we saved by faith alone apart from works, or does faith that saves necessitate some kind of works? This question is why Luther had a hard time reconciling Paul’s epistles and James’ one epistle. Here’s what he wrote:

“In a word St. John’s Gospel and his first epistle, St. Paul’s epistles, especially Romans, Galatians, and Ephesians, and St. Peter’s first epistle are the books that show you Christ and teach you all that is necessary and salvatory for you to know, even if you were never to see or hear any other book or doctrine. Therefore St. James’ epistle is really an epistle of straw, compared to these others, for it has nothing of the nature of the gospel about it.” 
(Preface to the New Testament, 1522)

Although this statement was later removed from subsequent editions (never formerly retracted however), Luther always held doubts about the canonicity of the Epistle of James.  So it’s important for us to consider exactly what James is talking about.

There are two aspects of faith.  Faith that brings us to salvation, and faith that results in corresponding actions.  Abraham believed God (that is all) “and it was accounted for righteousness” (Rom. 4:3).  But it wasn’t until Abraham obeyed God and took his son Isaac up to offer him as a sacrifice that God said,


“Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son.”
(Genesis 22:12, NIV)

God had already declared Abraham righteous and had made a covenant with him, but it wasn’t until he acted in faith upon God’s instructions that God said, “now I know.”  This is what the writer of Hebrews is referring to when we read, “without faith it is impossible to please God” (Heb. 11:6).  It was the sacrifice of Christ that pleased God as a payment for our sins (Is. 53:10; Rom. 3:24-25), but it is our stepping out in faith that also pleases God.

James tells is that our faith is dead unless it is active.  Faith that saves should result in faith that acts.  Faith should cause us to act upon what we believe prior to what we see.  Faith operates with confidence that what God has said is true even though what is currently seen is contradictory.  

Faith not only gives us the hope of heaven one day, but it brings the power of heaven here today.

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He Loved Telling People Why He Fed the Seagulls

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At the top of my legal pad I wrote: The most important factor in our testimony is thankfulness. Those words brought to my mind a story I read a few years ago.

It was thankfulness that prompted an old man to visit a pier in Florida for a very special reason.  Every Friday night, until his death in 1973, he would return, walking slowly and slightly stooped with a large bucket of shrimp. The sea gulls would flock to this old man, and he would feed them from his bucket. 

Many years before, in October, 1942, Captain Eddie Rickenbacker was on a mission in a B-17 to deliver an important message to General Douglas MacArthur in New Guinea.  But somewhere over the South Pacific the Flying Fortress became lost beyond the reach of radio. Fuel ran dangerously low, so the men ditched their plane in the ocean.  Then for nearly a month Captain Eddie and his companions would fight the water, and the weather, and the scorching sun. They spent many sleepless nights recoiling as giant sharks rammed their rafts.

But of all their enemies at sea, one proved most formidable: starvation. Eight days out, their rations were long gone or destroyed by the salt water. It would take a miracle to sustain them, and a miracle occurred.

Captain Rickenbacker loved to tell people why he was so thankful for seagulls:


Stranded in a raft, we read from the Bible and then prayed, and then sang a hymn. The heat was oppressive. I pulled my hat down to keep out some of the glare, and dozed off.  Then something landed on my head. I knew that it was a sea gull! No one said a word, but I could see the expression on the men’s faces. That gull meant food if I could catch it, and I did!

And the rest, as they say, is history. Captain Eddie caught the gull. Its flesh was eaten. Its intestines were used for bait to catch fish. The survivors were sustained and their hopes renewed because a lone sea gull, uncharacteristically hundreds of miles from land, offered itself as a sacrifice.  Captain Rickenbacker never forgot.  

I pray we would never forget the great sacrifice that was made for us through Jesus Christ.  And that we would not only express our thanks to God, but to love telling others why we are so thankful.